Heretics

Index

In Our Own Words

"It has never been proven that Chaos cultists are anything more than the product of the fevered imaginings of certain of the more zealous Witch Hunters. Why they have to go on and on about 'corruption from within' and 'debased orgiastic sects of the Lord of Pleasure' when the real danger is the Marauders of the north, I'll never know. I ask you, what motivation could these successful merchants, nobles, and scholars have for allying with Chaos, when they already hold positions of such eminence within the Empire? It would be like a queen bee poisoning her own hive."

— Albrecht Kinear, Professor Emeritus at the University of Nuln, speaking at a commission to advise the Elector Count of Nuln on the threat of Chaos

"What man of Miklgardr has ever paid a toll to sail the seas? We are pirates. We are Norscan. We are the wolves of the sea, and everything in the sea is our prey. You are our prey."

— Dalla Ulfarsdottir, Norse Shieldmaiden

"What choice did I have? I would be a loyal son of the Empire yet, had my hand not begun to change. I did nothing to make it occur. I read no proscribed books. I learned no profane rituals. I followed by teachers' instructions to the letter, and still I changed. Could I go to my professors and tell them my plight? Could I ask for mercy at the Temple of Sigmar? No. The only mercy the Empire gives its twisted children is the axe. What could I do? I wanted to live. I did not want my great mind to go to waste merely because one of my limbs had betrayed me."

— Magus Lichtmann, Warlock Engineer

"Is it so wrong to want to be on the winning side? Year by year the Beastmen grow bolder and the Marauders stronger. Year by year there are more Mutants, and worse, within the borders of the Empire. The Emperor is fighting a losing battle. I am a pragmatist first and foremost; the Empire has made me rich, but Chaos will help me to survive when Middenheim is in flames and its people are food for Beastmen or sacrifices to the Blood God. Survive and even prosper. The Master of Fortune is good to those who revere him."

"Horrified at the fate of their companion, the remaining adventurers chastised the daemon, who replied that they should simply be more specific in their wish-making."

— Mishka Levkov, Tomb Robber

"As for the infant, it might grow up more quickly than an ordinary child. Some of them do. Anyway, altering folk is worthwhile for its own sake. You might even say it's a sacrement."

— 'Mama' Solveig Weiss, Healer, Midwife & Heretic

Scholar's View

"There was a time, before your affliction, when you knew quite a bit about everyone in Miragliano. But perhaps the rot has crawled into your brain as well as your hand."

— Brunner the Bounty Hunter

"He who is touched by Chaos, may harm Chaos... but must always beware, lest he become the instrument of Chaos instead of its destroyer."

— Astyanax, Tilean Enchanter

"Kill the corrupted. They're beyond saving. Do it now, or we all die!"

— Jakob Wolff, Warrior-Priest of Sigmar

"This symbol is agony to you. Much more than the burning. For such as you, the very presence of holiness is pain. You deserve nothing less."

— Annika Bohringer, Witch Hunter

"The cults of our blessed Empire often act as frightened vengeful children, squabbling amongst themselves. Yet, we forget that while we fight each other, the forces of Chaos and its minions wait to take us all by surprise."

— Avemar Teinhoff of Carroburg, Celestial Magister of the Celestial Order

"Whatever has put the taint on them, their fate is still the same. Heretics burn."

— Inquisitor Gualtiero Bocca, Solkanite War-priest

"You have tormented me more than you know with your elaborate account of these forces of Chaos which threaten the world in so many different ways, and to which my own brother sold his soul."

"Albrecht Kinear, former Professor of the University of Nuln, this court finds you guilty of trafficking with Daemons amd selling your soul to Chaos. You profaned the high office and renown with which you were entrusted when you joined the Silver Wheel society here in Nuln, and you compounded our damnation when you steeped yourself so thoroughly in its dark and sorcerous teachings as to be made its leader. Your already unforgiveable crimes are made still worse by your continual deliberate misdirection of legitimate authority with your false pronouncements on Chaos and many another matter. Gunther, Hans—take him outside and burn him. Now."

— Vorster Pike, Witch Hunter, speaking at the commission to advise the Elector of Nuln on the threat of ChaosAlbrecht of Nuln, was burned at the stake 1301 IC for pernicious declamation.

"There are gods of wrath and horror, whose domain in growing in the world of men. The cause is terror, for when men see evil in the world, and fear it will claim them, their courage often fails, and they try to placate the force of evil instead of standing against them."

— Orfeo, Bretonnian Minstrel, recounting a warning of the Chaos threat ministered by the Morrian Father Superior of the Border Princedom of Aldium, in the Khyprian empire

"They have raped and pillaged the coasts of the Old World for centuries, putting towns and temples alike to the sword. They are a treacherous people, brother. Daemon-ridden and corrupt. They bathe in foetid pools that glow in night, and make offerings to twisted idols. They venerate the mutant, the beastman and the marauder. They are not worthy of your blood or your sacrifice."

Lead your group of brave adventurers through the perilous dungeons of the Warhammer world in the search for wealth and glory!

For quite some time now I have been relishing the opportunity of getting my hands dirty in the dungeons of Rodeo Games adaptation of the Warhammer Quest board game. After downloading this game from the app store I did eventually fire it up to relive the old days of dungeon questing, through the magic of tablet technology.

At the same time I have been putting the finishing touches to my draft for this year's grand campaign battle. An annual multi-player Mordheim bash featuring special guests, this year's event is set to take place in my fathers garage! After discussing the theme and premise of the scenario with João Sousa (who has a new blog called Fistful of Minis) we came up with a suitable plan. Oh, the adventure requires player aids. Here are some advance previews to download!

The game is being played over the mountain gaming board that was constructed for the Border Town Burning campaign! At the moment the main table top is hidden under a blanket, stuffed behind a load of crap in the garage corner. Shelob moved in! Time to blow out the cobwebs. There will be last minute repairs made from cats jumping about on the tinder causeways. It promises to be nostalgic.

Returning to the subject of quests. Playing the Warhammer Quest app is a nostalgia trip. For those familiar with the original game there will be many old memories that come flooding back. My barbarian hero is like a faithful returning friend, the wood elf is now a waywatcher and I've been allowed to replace the dwarf with an ogre! The grey-robed wizard is a poor excuse for a shadowmancer so I replaced him with the witch hunter character. When travelling between settlements there are some inspiring graphics been modelled to demonstrate settlements the Stirland, Reikland and Averland provinces. Hopefully more will be added for players who are more addicted to questing than myself.

The topical subject I wished to raise is that of magic artefacts. Not only can items be quested for and bought using gold crowns but they can also be purchased on the app store using cold hard cash. Seems like cheating to me. You can't buy Gotrek's Axe in the Warhammer World! But in this game you can. The famed weapon 'Sunfang' can be snapped up at the bargain price of a few pounds. What would Prince Tyrion of Ulthuan have to say about that. According to lore only he has wielded it, beyond Aenarion himself.

Good luck wrestling that sword away from the blood of Aenarion! But wait, it gets better. A friend of mine who has bought the app and is more technical than me had this to say...

"Embarrassingly rodeo do not know the first thing about app security and put all the in app purchases for WHQ into an easily modified config file. What would you recommend as a starting party given I have access to all characters. Now my inventory is so full of premium items that I will need to throw away. Staff of Volans does look really cool though."

Egrimm van Horstmann infamously raided the vaults beneath the College of Light for rare arcana. There have been a number of classic stories of greater artefacts falling into unexpected hands following unusual circumstances. This one must take the cake. The receiver of the artefact cache is actually talking about disposing of the Staff of Volans! Unlike fans of lore, he has no clue that Volans was the first Supreme Patriarch for the Colleges of Magic. It won't just be hierophants throwing their hands up in despair because the ancient staff presented to Volans by Teclis benefits not only wizards from the College of Light!

Of course this heist brings us back round to the Marienburg setting. In the City of Secret Deals any item can be sought at the right price. If thieves could unwittingly lay their hands on Ghal-Maraz during the Black Death in Time of Legends, and now Staff of Volans then any greater artefact could be considered fair game for pickpockets.

The six items I ferreted out as seeming appropriate for the Mutiny in Marienburg campaign are not quite as famed as those two mighty weapons but they should put an interesting spin on your Mordheim campaign games. Rolling a 6 on the Greater Artefacts Chart means living the dream. Unlike accessing the app store you need to do something to earn it!

On a final note the download for 'Marketplace' is not 100% complete although it may look it. This player aid contains a lot of useful entries that need to be shared with anyone utilising other MiM downloads. The Greater Artefacts Chart ties in with various chapters including this new special scenario and the Magician's Workshop in Potion Square. One of my favourite features is the Animal Emporium. The final entry here was for a Geckamand.

The chameleonic fire-lizard came about when I encountered a Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay web site where the hosts were adapting material from my Mordheim campaign for their Marienburg roleplay adventure. The lascar, Salaman Singh was featured in all his despicable glory as a crime-lord in their roleplay adventure. In their RPG campaign the 'Salamander' from the Spice Islands of Ind makes an appearance along with a dog-sized subterranean creature he keeps as a pet in his hot steamy boudoir! It seemed only appropriate to reshuffle the chart to account for the discovery.

"I don't trust playwrights. They can be paid. The vanity of other men is their master, not the truth."
— Captain Meisen of the Scarlet Blades, Averland Mercenary